


Coming Home

by Golden_Asp



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Gen, Post-Avengers: Endgame (Movie), Steve goes to see his Ma, based on a tweet, fix it for THAT scene
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-04
Updated: 2020-09-04
Packaged: 2021-03-06 23:53:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,659
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26287510
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Golden_Asp/pseuds/Golden_Asp
Summary: There was someone else Steve needed to see more than Peggy, and there she was.Sarah Rogers sat on the bench, munching quietly on crackers.
Relationships: Sarah Rogers & Steve Rogers
Comments: 6
Kudos: 38





	Coming Home

**Author's Note:**

> [This](https://twitter.com/littleredhale/status/1279383642133770240) tweet came across my timeline the other day and I was inspired to write this. I hope I did the idea justice! 
> 
> not beta-ed

Steve took a deep breath and shook off the momentary disorientation of traveling via the Pym particles. He’d used them enough recently he ought to be used to it, but it still threw him for a loop every time. He looked around, the sounds of the gulls and the shouts of men on the docks drifting to him. He would stand out like a sore thumb in the quantum suit and he needed to change. 

He hadn’t been called the man with the plan for nothing. Digging into the pack he’d brought, he pulled on a pair of trousers and a button down shirt, the quantum suit easily fitting underneath. He stood up and took a deep breath, the rank smell of the water and trash making his nose wrinkle. 

He didn’t miss the smell, that was for sure.

Steve started to walk, a small part of him amazed at how the big, burly dock workers moved aside for him. They never would’ve done that before, when he was small. How many times had he ended up in the water only to be fished out by Bucky because he stuck his nose where it wasn’t wanted? He’d lost count.

He had delivered the Infinity Stones back to their rightful times. He stopped on a street corner, leaning against the brick and covered his face with his hand.

Returning those stones had been one of the hardest things he’d ever done. Seeing Tony and Natasha in 2012 had nearly broken him. He wanted to break cover and hug them both, but he didn’t. He returned the stone and took one last look at them, cementing them in his mind as they were; alive, beautiful.

The other stones were easier, even the Soul Stone. The strange altar on Vormir had been empty when he’d arrived, the stone disappearing as soon as he set it on the ground.

“Stop, Steve,” he told himself. “You already know you can’t change what happened.” He took a deep breath and pushed off the wall, heading for the hospital. He was here to see one person and his heart beat a rapid rhythm in his chest.

He stopped to buy some food, getting a chicken sandwich wrapped in foil, vegetables nearly falling off it. He bought a cookie and a juice in a glass bottle, giving the vendor all the money he had. Hopefully no one would look too closely at the dates on some of the bills, but Steve honestly couldn’t bring himself to care.

He carried the meal as he turned, the hospital rising up before him. He had spent a lot of time there as a youth. He walked around the back to the garden, his heart beat echoing in his ears. He had thought about going to see Peggy when he was done returning the stones. Seeing her in the 70s had made him ache with what could have been. But he knew that she had lived a good life, had a loving marriage. He wasn’t the type of man to get in the way of that, no matter how much he still wished he could have that dance.

No, there was someone else Steve needed to see more than Peggy, and there she was.

Sarah Rogers sat on the bench, munching quietly on crackers. Steve knew it was all she could afford and she was going to make those crackers last. She never complained about it, he knew that.

Steve licked his lips and walked forward, the foil wrapped sandwich in his hands trembling slightly as he reached the bench. He sat next to her and took a deep breath, thrusting the sandwich into her face and she blinked at the sudden appearance of food. 

“For you,” Steve said.

Sarah frowned and took the sandwich, inhaling deeply at the rich scents coming from the foil. “For me?” she asked, stunned by the offer of such abundance. 

“For you,” Steve said again. Sarah lifted her eyes to meet his and sucked in a surprised breath. They stared at each other, the silence charged and heavy. Her mouth opened and closed while Steve took in his mother’s appearance. She was thin, hair pulled back in a no nonsense bun. 

Her eyes ran over him, taking in his broad shoulders, his golden blond hair, those blue eyes she knows so well; the same baby blues as her Stevie, sick at home and being looked after by Bucky.

She sucked in a breath because she knows. It’s impossible, she knows that but she knows that this man, this tall, broad, healthy man, is her son.

“Steven?”

“Hi, Ma,” Steve said, his voice cracking with emotion. “I’ve missed you so much.”

She set the sandwich aside, unable to tear her eyes away from Steve.

“What…” she whispered.

“It’s a long story,” Steve said, giving her a sad smile. She could see the weight of the world in his eyes, a sadness she had never seen before.

“It doesn’t matter,” she said, reaching out to touch his cheek. Steve closed his eyes and leaned into the touch, eyes burning with tears. “What matters is you’re here.”

“Ma…”

“Shhhh, I know, Stevie. I know you have to go back to…wherever you came from.”

Steve wanted to stay. Oh God, how he wanted to stay. 

She opened her arms and he fell into her. The smell of her cheap perfume brought back so many memories, of being small and fitting perfectly in his mother’s embrace. Her wiry arms were tight around him, hugging him tighter than she had ever been able to hug him when he was small. He wrapped his arms around her, hugging her gently.

“I have twenty minutes of lunch left,” she said once they pulled apart. “Join me?”

“The sandwich and juice are for you,” Steve said firmly. She smiled at him and took half the sandwich out of the wrap. He knew she would take the other half home to share with Steve and Bucky.

“You can’t tell them,” he said suddenly.

She gave him the look he knew so well from when he got in a fight and she had to patch him up. “I am not an idiot, Steven Grant Rogers.”

Steve blushed and dropped his head, properly chastised. “Sorry, Ma. I know that.”

Sarah laughed quietly and ate her sandwich, closing her eyes as she took the first bite. How long had it been since she’d tasted something so good? She ate slowly, savoring each bite, and Steve sat with her, the sounds of the city barely penetrating the garden. 

They didn’t speak much. Steve took comfort just sitting in her presence, taking a moment to breathe through the heartache and pain of the last five years.

Her lunch break was coming to an end and Steve made a snap decision. He didn’t care if it would change things. He pulled out his phone and Sarah watched him with interest.

“Can I take a picture of us?” Steve asked. He wasn’t great with selfies, no matter how often Natasha had walked him through it, but he wanted—needed—proof that this was real.

“Of course,” Sarah said. “That is a strange camera.”

“It’s a phone, actually,” Steve said, opening it. It obviously didn’t have any service but he didn’t need that to take a picture. He drew her in close to him, her head resting on his shoulder and his cheek against her hair. He lifted the phone and she laughed at the image of them on the screen. He took as many pictures as he could and pocketed the phone.

They stood up, Sarah staring up at him. He was so big, so handsome.

But he was still her little Stevie.

She cupped his cheek and pulled him into another tight embrace, pressing her lips against his cheek.

“I’m glad you stopped by,” she said, stepping back with tears in her eyes.

Steve was openly crying but he nodded. “Me too,” he said, dashing away tears.

“I love you, Stevie,” Sarah said.

“I love you too, Ma,” Steve said. He belatedly remembered the cookie and held it out to her. “For Steve and Buck.”

She smiled, slipping the cookie into her bag with the other half of the chicken sandwich.

“Thank you, Steve.”

“Bye, Ma,” Steve said. She smiled at him and then turned and walked away. Steve watched her until she disappeared back into the hospital. 

He wiped away his tears but couldn’t stop smiling. It had been worth it, but it was time to go.

:::

Bucky stood in the forest, staring at the empty quantum platform. Sam was yelling at Bruce, telling him to find Steve. Bucky was pretty sure Steve wasn’t coming back. They had spoken of it after Tony’s funeral; Steve had mentioned wanting to see Peggy again and Bucky had the feeling Steve was going to stay in the past.

It hurt.

“Got him!” Bruce yelled, tapping the keyboard with his pencil. Bucky spun, staring in shock as Steve materialized on the platform, the case with the infinity stones and Thor’s hammer gone.

“You had me worried, man!” Sam said as Steve stepped off the platform. Steve smiled and clapped him on the shoulder.

“Just a little detour. All the stones are back in their timelines.”

“You came back,” Bucky said, blank with surprise.

Steve looked at him and stepped close, throwing an arm around Bucky’s shoulder and dragging Sam in on the other side. Bucky caught a whiff of a familiar perfume but he couldn’t place it.

Steve looked around, taking in Bruce with his arm in a sling, looking relieved that Steve was there, and Sam, grumbling half heartedly about being dragged into a hug, to Bucky, quiet but peaceful against his side. He could just see the ruins of the compound, construction already starting to rebuild it.

Steve smiled and squeezed Bucky and Sam in a tighter hug.

“I came home.”

**Author's Note:**

> comments and kudos are love


End file.
